Obviously, incarnation online is a contradiction. Last Wednesday I discussed why being physically present, “in the flesh” or incarnate is important.
And last Friday, I explored one aspect of this in more detail. Imbricated roles explores degrees of overlap of physical presence with the formal role of community development. The possibilities range from living in the neighbourhood through to development work without setting foot in the neighbourhood.
The post lists several meaningful ways a development worker can operate without physical presence, including online development work.
Incarnation Online?
Incarnation means “in the flesh”, so is it possible to be truly present online? I market my business as Community Development Online, is this a practical possibility?
On the face of it, it is impossible to be present in any meaningful sense if your relationship is solely online. There is always value in visiting a neighbourhood, even once, to get a sense of how things are and to meet the people. We pick up many visual and other clues from people and even a video link cannot offer the same experience.
However, this needs to be balanced with the unparalleled access we have via the Internet to people and communities all over the world. It extends our reach and makes sharing experiences all over the world possible.
So, let’s approach this from another angle.
Walking Alongside
I mentioned in last Wednesday’s post that incarnation is “walking alongside” in the sense that followers of Jesus embody Jesus in the practical things they do to support people around them.
George Lovell’s non-directive consultancy for community and church workers, known as AVEC, supported many workers from all over the UK in the 70s and 80s. Lovell did not visit every community he helped. He was able to get alongside practitioners, who were the people present in their communities.
They were people committed to a particular neighbourhood and so were present there. Where the coach or consultant walks alongside the development worker, communicating online does not make a great deal of difference.
Trust
The big issue for any business is trust. The local business builds trusting relationships, perhaps over years. It is more difficult online. There are many methods websites use to help visitors know like and trust an online business, eg telling personal stories, sharing testimonials, blogging, videos. Whilst these all have their place, the one thing that can really build relationships is personal contact; besides Skype there are many online conferencing facilities.
There are many successful businesses offering coaching over a huge range of activities and it means a coach can extend their reach to practically anywhere in the world. There is little evidence this is inferior. The skills of the coach are far more important than proximity of coach and client.
Yes, using the Internet to deliver coaching services does mean there is less personal contact. This can be a disadvantage but there are advantages too. Working together on a document or website, may actually be easier online.
One strength of working online is there is less temptation, especially prevalent among development workers, to take over the role of the local person.
Perhaps this is a poor image of God! Many religious people do see God as distant and walking alongside, despite the Christian understanding of God in flesh, living and dying with us.
We must remember everything we encounter online is a machine, not a living thing. Its purpose is to help us live our lives and not replace them with worlds we create in our heads.
The postal service in the past supported relationships that might have ended had they not been able to communicate. The web is a bigger more complex and more seductive version of the same thing.
